The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1887-06-11
WESTMINSTER, MD, SATURDAY, JUNE II, 1887.

! street, the most fashionable shopping stree
, in London, where we find the finest stores
D and the handsomest displays in the win
dows. This street is very wide, and tn
houses on each side are nearly all of tn
same color, paly yellow, and are probabl,
painted every year to keep them fresh.
We are now going back toward the city
, and, continuing through the lively scene
of Oxford street, we perceive that after ;
time this great thoroughfare changes int
High Holborn; and we may remember wha
Thomas Hood had to say about lost chile
in this street, when he wrote:
zone day, as was going by
That part Of HolbOrn christened High,
heard loud and sudden cry
That chilled my very blood"
Then the street becomes Holborn Via.
duct, where, for about quarter of mile,
it is built high across deep depression in
the city, making levellin of street where
there used to be two steep hills. At one
point there is bridge where we can look
over the railing and see portions of the city
spread out below u.s. At one end of this
viaduct is the old church of St. Sepulchre,
where lies buried Captain John Smith,
who, We will remember, would probably
have been buried in Virginia, had it not
been for the kindly Intervention Of Poca-
hontas And at the other end is the famous
prison of Newgate. Daniel Defoe--author
of Robinson Crusoe-Jack Sheppard and
! William Penn were imprisoned in Newgate;
but the building has been a great deal
altered since their times. The street here
is called Newgate street, and before very
long it merges into Cheapside. and we find
ourselves at the point from which we start
ed. Not far from Newgate is a much more
cheerful place, of which you all have read.
This is Christ's Hospital, the home of the
Blue Coat Boys, who, with their long coats,
knee-breeches and yellow stockings, and
never wearing any hats, winter or summer,
are frequently to be met with in the picture
galleries and other public places in London.
1t is now the intention of the managers of
this school to move it into the country.
In the very heart of the city, where we
now are, stands the great Bank of England
This building, with one of its sides on
Threadneedle street, covers about four acres,
but is only one story high. 1t has no
windows on the outside, through which
thieves might get in from the street, and
light and air are supplied by windows open
ing on inside courts. This is one Of the
richest banks in the world. Its vaults
often contain as much as hundred million
dollars in gold, and every night a small
detachment of soldiers from some regiment
stationed in the city is quartered here to
protect its treasures. Each of the men re-
ceives a small sum from the bank, and the
officer in command is provided with din
ner for himself and any two friends he may
choose to invite. But at a certain hour
the head watehman of the bank comes
around with the great keys, to lock up the
outer door with ceremonies that have been
observed for generations, and the two
friends must leave, whether they are ready
to go or not.
Opposite the Bank is the Mansion
House, the stately edifce in which the
Lord Mayor lives Near by is the Royal
Exchange, with a grand portico and tall
tower, on the top of which is great golden
grasshopper, which some people may think
is intended to mean that the money made
by the hundreds and thousands of business
men who crowd here during certain hours
will skip away from them if they are not
careful; in reality it is the crest of the
original builder of the Exchange In this
neighborhood also is the General Post
Office, and the great Telegraph Building.
A good deal farther eastward than these
and on the bank of the River Thames,
which runs through London as the Seine
does through Paris, stands the ancient and
far-famed Tower of London. This is not
by any means single tower, but is col
lection of strongly fortified buildings sur
rounded by high and massive wall, and
is veritable castle, or fortress, of the olden
time, standing here in the crowded and
busy London of to-day. We shall wander
for long time through this gloomy old
fortress and prison, now used as an arsenal
and barracks for soldiers. Most of the an-
cient buildings, towers, and walls are still
Just as they used to be. Here we shall
see the Bloody Tower, in which the two
princes were murdered by Richard I'LL;
the great central White Tower, built by
William the Conqueror, and now contain
ing museum of old-time armor and weap-
ons, where we may also see many wooden
figures of mounted men clad in the very
armor worn long ago by knights and kings.
In another tower, the Beauchamp Tower,
we shall enter the prison-chamber in which
many of the great people of England were
confined, and we can read the inscriptions
written by them on the walls. In the
corner of the inclosure is little chapel,
which differs from every other church, in
containing the graves of so many famous
beheaded people. Among these are Queen
Anne Boleyn; Lady Jane Grey, and
her husband; Queen Elizabeth's friend, the
Earl of Essex; and others with whose names
we are very familiar in English history.
If there had been no way of cutting off
peoples heads, or of otherwise putting an
end to them, great deal Of the history of
the world would never have been written.
In another tower, where it is said Henry
vi. was murdered, we shall see the crown
Jewels, or regalia, of England, which are
here for safe-keeping. They are in great
glass case surrounded by strong IRON
barred cage, through which thief, even
if he could get over the Tower walls and
through its guards, would find it hard to
break In this case we see golden crowns,
scepters, swords, and crosses, covered with
magnificent jewels of every kind, besides
many other dazzling and costly objects.
On Queen Victoria's state crown are no
less than two thousand seven hundred and
eighty-three diamonds, and in front is the
great ruby, said to have belonged to the
Black Prince, which Henry ", who liked
to make gorgeous appearance on great
occasions, wore on his helmet at the battle
of Agincourt.
Standing about in various places in the
Tower grounds we shall meet with some of
the warders, called "beef-eaters," which is
an English corruption of the French baE
fetiers, or royal walters. These men are
dressed in medieval custume, adorned with
many bright-colored ribbon bows, and carry
tall halberds, or spears.